Okay, I'm finally starting it and I'm just gonna do it as I go, stream of conscious. Or as I call them in the other threads "Quick Thoughts"
Okay, so Amanda is still all over the place. Miguel just gated up Johnny's nixon, and in the meantime, 'ol Johnny be taking his frustrations out on Daniel-san. Robby seems to finally be going places, he's probably the best written character this episode, and once again, good arc beginning. Tory is still being really f^%king dense and petty. It was cathartic to see Hawk get his just desserts. Never expected Silver to become such a NIMBY-yuppie sort, but I do like the explanation...I wonder if that's the handwave for the behavior in TNKK {should these writers do the prudent thing and acknowledge it} Daniel telling them to relax while himself not relaxing is rich [but as a teacher myself I understand this one], and being like "look at the burned bridges Hawk" was...not helpful. Kreese continues to f^%k up everything... so I don't understand why he's getting a bit of the Johnny treatment. A little bummed, but I guess it's in character for Johnny to not apologize because"muh weakness.
Actually, this was good premiere. I'm sure things are going to get janky soon, but this show always knows how to do a good take-off. I see why it's down to Robby vs. Hawk, the writers clearly found them most interesting.
I'll do the second episode soon.
Okay, now for episode two
Ah, so this is the Kenny I've heard so much about, seems like our Miguel expy...except he's clearly richer. Good to see Daniel and Johnny finally at least try to acknowledge philosophical differences, it only took 35 years lol. I have to admit, it kinda tickles me to think what would happen if Krav Maga or Muay Thai were in this plot somehow given how aggressive those forms are. I'm still not sure I like this whole Kreese suddenly cares about Tory angle...when he's shown several times to only care about himself...it's a bit much. Amanda continues to flip and flop, that's not new, so of course she's gonna take Kreese at his word. Good training montages, but the hockey part was excessive...Johnny deserves to be called out for that at some point
Not as good as the first part, onto part III
Edited by terlwyth on Jan 1st 2022 at 5:58:05 AM
Okay, now for part 3
Okay, good to see Johnny and Danny divvying up the roles as once again, both philosophies are valid in conflict...though I do prefer Miyagi-Do., even without the narrative trying to make me favor it. Carmen continues to be amazing. Glad to see Miguel and Sam back and some long-term thinking on Miguel's part. Totes loves this Silver v. Kreese dynamic, even if I know exactly where on the scale of good v. evil this will land...and it doesn't make sense. Once again, Robby continues to be the best character so far...which is kinda amazing considering just how...off... he was last season. I really like the Miguel/Daniel x Johnny/Sam dynamics...I wasn't sure about the last one, but it actually works amazingly given how the former are a bullied-rags-to-riches lot while the latter are a rich-but-troubled one.I like how Kyler continues to be the low key Worf for the show. Oh dear, Johnny's getting all mad about Miguel being what, getting the gi...ho boy, it's all gonna fall apart next episode because of this huh. Johnny just can't let this go...oy vey.
Well, it was better than episode two, but the end is making me nervous about some uh...contrivances afoot.
Agreed. he did some nasty shit, even if his experiences in Vietnam warped him.
One Strip! One Strip!Mind you, his Nam past was the one misstep as it's so crazily overthetop it reads like it's something he made up ala his Special Forces career.
"Yes, I was actually a decent geeky kid myself only my experiences in a murderous fight club at the hands of my insane commander made me a killer. That includes death fights."
Reminds me a bit of the RL backstory of Bloodsport. Which was also complete BS.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Jan 2nd 2022 at 5:50:40 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.I mean, a lot of those cinematic depictions of American POW's being forced to do shit like underground fight clubs and Russian roulette have generally been blatant horseshit and never actually happened (it's true there was torture of American POW's but it wasn't like what you'd see in The Deer Hunter), so it does kind of read like something Kreese would make up.
It's one thing I didn't like about Season 3. It reads like a bad Reagan-era depiction of the war in Vietnam.
Yeah, I actually liked the fact the show gave us a sympathetic appearance of Kreese (he's a homeless veteran) and revealed that he was making up all of his stories to preserve his pride with Johnny but proceeded to them reveal he was a manipulative sociopath that promptly stole the dojo from Johnny. We also had all of Johnny's friends (who WERE just kids during the first movie) warn Johnny that anyone who would murder a teenager like he was ready to do in the parking lot was not someone to be trusted.
Backtracking on that would be a mistake.
I'm okay with Chozen's redemption but at least some people need to be all bad.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.Something I've wondered having finished Season 4 yesterday: would the dissolution of the Miyagi-do/Eagle Fang alliance be also the fault of the respective students of both dojos as they weren't able to work on the Sensei Dispute Resolution Protocol as they attempted to devise in the previous season?
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No.
As the Senseis, Daniel and Johnny were the ones who needed to set an example, and they continually failed to do so. At this point, everyone should be sick of their shit. They caused all of this because they kept picking fights with each other. They knew the stakes, they knew they had to work together, and they still botched it.
I'm hoping Chozen beats them both up, takes over both dojos, and teaches all the kids to be better than them.
One Strip! One Strip!![]()
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Definitely not
Daniel and Johnny are grown men their ace students shouldn't have to be the ones to keep their Highschool rivalry from overriding their common sense. If they hadn't let themselves disolve they would have had more students using both styles rather than one especially considering Robbie spilling secrets should have been an obvious outcome.
In other news I do wonder what the points looked like since Eagle Fang was in third place the belief was that there was still a chance if Miguel the boys division.
"Shall I use you, or make you mine... I'm not so sure what I'll do." - DorthyOkay, now for Episode 4
Okay, maybe the Star Trek curse plagues this season. All I know is, the wedge going between Johnny and Miguel seems a little trite. Robby vs Silver was a very good fight. The car glorification definitely feels '80's, and a little off-putting in this day and age. Okay, the Coors is now a bit of Tear Jerker, as if Johnny's attachments to beer weren't already a little uncomfortable
. Absolutely loving the Daniel x Miguel angle anyway. Love how Terry Silver has the Sanity Ball on this and Daniel's Oh, Crap! face. The sprinkler thing was dumb, I get why, but Johnny is correct about what can happen.
Okay, this is still engaging, but...hmm,it does feel a bit disjointed.
Episode 5
Glad to see Dimtri/Yasmine is still going, and perhaps Eli/Moon return too. Good to see Daniel be called out a bit on his BS, even if Sam is clearly going down a rabbit hole herself over Tory. Also, I can see why Johnny only focused on how Daniel fought Barnes at the final, as it does delegitimize the man's two time win a bit...I know the recap says Comically Missing the Point, but I don't see it. Also Kreese is a real master projectionist.While he does egg on Johnny as second-fiddle...he seems to worry Silver is doing the same, I admit that I'd expected Johnny to retort back as much. Also notable is the grudge holding. Also, when I look how La Russo/Lawrence talk...I wonder ifthey insist of the methods they do as compensation. It's obvious that Daniel is a hothead, but Johnny has actually been very much a cool head. A hothead that strikes first can get into all sorts of trouble if they strike first and truly lose themselves. Someone calmer that doesn't strike first will get railroaded.
. I still think this is contrived and I see why some here are hoping Cobra Kai win over the Miyagis or Eagles, but...looking at that side...hmmm.
Edited by terlwyth on Jan 2nd 2022 at 1:41:11 PM
Episode 6
Wow, methinks the Committee need senseis for mediation. Liking where Silver is taking things...kinda see why Handsome Rob said what he did regarding Cobra Kai deserving to win because of the old rivalry. While I do think it's a weird 180, I just can't agree about Tory being The Scrappy,yeah the writers probably ran into a corner and changed direction, but the potential is still there and it's a compelling rechange, and really should've been the direction last season. Nice Ass Pull for Amanda to back up her actions here, and the whole thing feels like a high-horse issue. So this time, the character best written is Dimitri, who really is The Heart. Holy sh&^ the exchange between Silver and Daniel...there's something really creepy about it...truly a masterclass of acting. And yeah, Silver pwned the hell out of that exchange. Oh wait, jk, Aiysha wins! She queen
. Unfortunate that Sam is gonna take this the wrong way. Sh^%, she did.
Huh.
Aisha should be Chozen's first student. Then they both beat up all the idiots (who to me is everyone) and save the day.
.....I admit, maybe I've gotten a bit intolerant. You probably shouldn't take me totally seriously.
One Strip! One Strip!Episodes 7 + 8
Okay,Tory x Robby is a good dynamic. Sam x Miguel really need to get over themselves and their past. Anthony is a better scrappy example than Tory. Everyone except Silver and Demetri [opposite reasons of course] seems to be treated with more sympathy in general than they deserve. The prom was awesome. lots of good looking peeps. Kenny doing a stealth beat up was genius.
Great batch. Much improved over the last two.
I kinda got over that after a while.
Plus, 100 Years Quest has been good. Most of my complaints were for the last few arcs.
But getting back to Cobra Kai, I'm looking forward to seeing if everyone can dig themselves out of the hole they've dug themselves into.
One Strip! One Strip!- Glad to see the school isn't repeating the mistakes of previous seasons by not punishing Kenny alongside his bullies or engaging in Blaming the Victim.
- Did Daniel and Johnny not discuss how they would approach teaching their students before joining their dojos? The issues they have throughout this season feels like stuff they should have hashed out before this endeavor.
- I wonder if Silver being on drugs during Karate Kid Part 3 was a fan theory before this show.
- How has Johnny survived this long while being so out of touch with the rest of the world?
Edited by windleopard on Jan 2nd 2022 at 8:00:30 AM
It seems they did not. Considering the impromptu-ness of the joining of the schools, and the urgency of dealing with Kreese, it seems they just started doing it and figured they'd put it all together as they went along.
And it almost worked for a bit, though mostly due to Hawk making that sparing ring, but then Johnny and Daniel botched it again.
One Strip! One Strip!Okay, now for Episodes 9-10/FINAL:
Okay, nice flash start...kinda reminds me of the Battlebots guy. Not so many puns though. I do wonder what happened to the other dojos? Like the one of the former champion...oh, they are there on the board nvm. While I like the In-Universe reason, I do wonder how they actually got Carrie Underwood...still good music btw. The And That's Terrible /Surprised Pikachu Face attitude regarding Cobra Kai adapting Miyagi-Do moves is a little trite tbh, but the Shut Up, Hannibal! from Daniel is still worth talking about.Poor Miguel, not poor Anthony...that was deserved. Glad to see where Robby is going. Not a fan of more Kreesey whitewashing, even if it heightens Silver. Really glad the resolution is spelled as Robby said it...though I'm still personally more in favor of Miyagi-Do. Glad to see Chozen again.
Okay, now get Julie into this!
Edited by terlwyth on Jan 2nd 2022 at 11:41:07 AM
I agree about Anthony. Yes, he legitimately tried to apologize (twice) but the shit he did was well past the point of apology. What Kenny did was bad, not because he beat the shit out of his tormentor (cause again, Anthony had it coming, and saying I'm sorry wasn't really good enough) but because he's basically been indoctrinated into the Cobra-Kai mentality and become like them.
I do wonder where Anthony goes from here. Cause I don't know if I can cheer for him if he starts taking up Karate as well.
One Strip! One Strip!

The problem IMO has always been the hyperforcus on violence and beating down your enemies as the only solution to your problems.
On the other hand,I agree that a constant problem with the Miyagi-Do students and even Daniel himself at times is that they seem to think that just cause they didnt throw the first punch means they're still in line with Miyagi's teachings.So they see no problem with provoking conflict in other always.Something they're supposed to be avoiding entirely. (or that aleast trying to avoid).Not sure if this meant to be a plot point that will be address later or just bad writing.
Anyway Johnnys Cobra ki and Eagle fang teachings are a mixed bag IMO.
Edited by DeanCole on Jan 1st 2022 at 7:17:42 AM